The growth of and problems with electronic money

December 1, 2013

As companies like Bitcoin explode in value, speculations as to the future of cryptocurrencies in online spending have increase this last week.

The e-money Bitcoin reached $1000 on the exchange site Mt Gox last Wednesday, according to CNET. The growth, up from $615 on November 20th, has been mirrored by a number of other online currencies; the NYT gives examples from Google Trends as to how attention has grown and increased Bitcoin’s worth, and how “Bitcoin Black Friday” encouraged more online trading sites to accept the currency.

But such an expansion has increase speculation and even suspicion as to the future of Bitcoin and similar e-currencies. While Bitcoin is designed to be “cryptographically secure,” reactions to the boom have lead to fears of money laundering and fraud.

Of course these could be dismissed as reactionary and hyperbolic, but they do represent a fear of online trading and purchasing and will likely remain as Bitcoin continues to grow.